Low autumn light works wonders on late season gardens, when 'new perennial'
plantings come into their own

The sun in autumn casts long shadows on dewy lawns and illuminates flowers, leaves and seed heads in a way that's quite different from the glare of high summer. The Walled Garden at Scampston Hall, designed by Piet Oudolf and open until the beginning of November (see below), is a classic example of a planting that looks gorgeous right now.

One private garden in Luxembourg I've seen uses a vintage table and chairs placed to take in the play of sun and shadow across a beautiful border, also planted by Piet Oudolf in his signature ''new perennial’’ style.

The robust perennials and grasses that are key to this type of planting have many advantages for gardeners: not least that they need little of the feeding, staking and dividing that make traditional herbaceous borders so demanding. Sturdy enough to remain standing well into winter (unless the weather is relentlessly wet), they extend the season well into autumn and beyond with striking seed heads and graphic silhouettes.

And their naturalistic appearance – often very close to wild or species plants – means they can be used effectively to blur the boundary between garden and wider landscape beyond. Variety is provided by contrasts in colour, shape and texture – the flat domed heads of Sedum telephium 'Matrona’ work well next to the feathery plumes of Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii 'Purpurlanze’, with spires of veronicastrums, persicarias and tall miscanthus grasses all used in bold, free-form swathes.

VINTAGE GARDEN FURNITURE is a great way to make your garden stand apart. These metal and wood chairs, with their twiggy cast-iron legs, are Swedish, but similarly unusual pieces can be tracked down at antique fairs and salvage yards in Britain. UK Architectural Antiques claims to have the largest online stock of architectural antiques, including garden furniture, in this country. Take a look at Architectural Antuqes' website (right) or arrange to visit the yard in Staffordshire by ringing 07890 728144.

SEDUM TELEPHIUM 'MATRONA’, like all sedums, is a good all-year plant, providing interest from when its first pale rosettes of leaves poke through the soil in spring, through its late-summer flowering to its autumnal seed heads that turn from dark red to brown. Dusky pink 'Matrona’ has a stronger frame than most, and is less prone to splaying open when mature. Buckingham Nurseries (01280 813556) has plants from £1.99 to £4.99.

ASTILBE CHINENSIS VAR. TAQUETII 'PURPURLANZE’ Astilbes can be downright ugly in shades of brassy red and pink, but this variety, with its deep magenta plumes, is highly desirable, and mixes well with tawny and bleached grasses. The Beth Chatto Nursery (01206 822007) has it for £3.80 (minimum order £20). Plant in moist soil.

PIET OUDOLF has designed many gardens in Britain, among the most recent the spectacular Scampston Hall, pictured, in North Yorkshire, which is open until November 1, and the Glasshouse borders at RHS Wisley which are at their peak now. His most recent creation, which opened to the public this summer, is the first section of the High Line in Manhattan a new public park planted along a disused raised railway line.

NEW PERENNIAL PLANTING is one of the key styles covered in PLANTING: The Planting Design Book for the 21st Century, by Diarmuid Gavin and Terence Conran (Conran Octopus £40) – a huge and lavishly illustrated new tome that is full of inspiration from around the world. To order a copy at the reduced price of £35 plus £1.25 p&p, contact Telegraph Books (0844 871 1515).